Loophole could keep Mass Pike tolls up permanently

Saturday

Jul 27, 2013 at 11:03 PM

By John J. Monahan, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

BOSTON — The laws on the books say the tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Central and Western Massachusetts have to come down when Turnpike construction bonds are paid off in 2017. But key lawmakers on Beacon Hill are laying the groundwork to undermine the commitment that was enshrined in a 2009 transportation reform law.

Gov. Deval L. Patrick underscored the pending loss of $135 million in toll revenue if the tolls come down, as he pressed unsuccessfully this summer to make up for it with a larger gas tax hike than the three cents included in the $500 million transportation finance tax bill that became law last week.

"By current law those tolls come down in 2017, and the people who pay them have been assured they will come down," the governor asserted in a message to lawmakers during the gas tax battle earlier this month.

He went on to acknowledge disagreement among legislators, some of whom he said believe the commitment must be honored — while others "say that the tolls will never come down."

House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, D-Winthrop, and Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, both insisted it was not the right time to deal with the question as they finalized the terms of the transportation finance tax bill. Starting Wednesday, the bill will raise the gas tax, add $1 per pack to the cigarette tax, and place new taxes on computer design services and some utilities.

The tax bill also requires the state within 90 days to resume tolling of passenger cars on exits 1 through 6 in Western Massachusetts. Those tolls had been eliminated under Gov. William F. Weld in 1996.

Meanwhile, House Transportation Chairman William Straus, D-Mattapoissett, advanced the argument during the gas tax debate that the governor is misreading the law and that another provision in the 2009 law says the tolls would only come down if the state Department of Transportation determines the road is in good condition. Otherwise, the state would keep the tolls up permanently.

Part of Mr. Straus' argument relies on his interpretation that the good condition requirement would mean that the Turnpike will be in good condition permanently in the future, not just that it be in good condition at the time of the toll elimination from Route 128 to the New York border.

Some Democrats in Central Massachusetts, including the powerful Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, have long provided key support for keeping tolls on the Turnpike. Mr. Brewer said during the gas tax debate that the tolls in Central and Western Massachusetts will be needed far into the future as a user fee to ensure the road remains in good condition.

But some lawmakers are crying foul.

"Those tolls should come down," said State Rep. Peter J. Durant, R-Spencer, adding that Mr. Straus' assertions represent only an "interpretation" of the law.

"If we made a commitment to take those down, then it's a commitment we should keep. That's a commitment the commonwealth made and the commonwealth should honor," Mr. Durant said.

Still, Mr. Durant said he expects the powers in Boston will not give up the revenue and will try to find a way to keep the tolls in place.

"If any loophole is available, they are staying up. And my guess will be that they will find a loophole," Mr. Durant said. He said there is no reason the state could not now begin making long-term plans to remove the tolls in 2017, and plan other revenues from tax growth or savings to make up for lost maintenance money.

Rep. Paul K. Frost, R-Auburn, said he feels strongly the promise to take down the tolls in 2017 should be fulfilled. Otherwise, he said, it is likely the toll revenues will later be diverted to transportation projects in other parts of the state once the bonds are paid off. The financial burden on motorists, he said, is not the only price the region pays.

Keeping the tolls up will mean the region could be stuck permanently with extensive and frequent traffic jams and more air pollution, he said.

"Sometimes on Fridays, and definitely on holiday weekends, it's not uncommon to see the Pike backed up all the way to Auburn and Millbury from the Sturbridge tolls," Mr. Frost said. "The tolls do cause slowdowns and traffic tie-ups, and all the exhaust isn't doing anybody any good from an environmental perspective," Mr. Frost said.

Mr. Durant and Mr. Frost were among the group of House members from Central Massachusetts, who tried unsuccessfully to add amendments to the gas tax bill to ensure the tolls would come down from the Weston toll (at Route 128/Interstate 95) to New York State at the latest by Dec. 31, 2017.

Meanwhile, there are indications some lawmakers from other parts of the state are angling to protect the Western Turnpike toll revenue to help fund other state projects.

Mr. Straus is one of a number of Southcoast legislators with a key say on tolls, who are pushing hard for the state to construct a costly new rail line to bring commuter rail service to Fall River and New Bedford. That project will need funding from state transportation budgets in the coming years.

Another supporter of the Southcoast rail project, Antonio F.D. Cabral, D-New Bedford, chairman of the House Bonding Committee, said he also believes the tolls should and will stay up.

Mr. Cabral quizzed state transportation officials Tuesday at a meeting of the committee about the prospects of toll elimination in 2017, and expressed doubt that the next administration would go along with removal of the tolls.

"It's unlikely that a responsible Secretary of Transportation would make a decision to bring those down," Mr. Cabral said. He said even if the toll funding is lost, the state would have enough funding from other sources and anticipated savings to finance those major rail and MBTA expansion projects.

But a DOT official indicated otherwise at the meeting.

State Department of Transportation chief financial officer Dana Levenson testified that the remaining $70 million owed on the Western Turnpike bonds will be paid off "in full" Jan. 1, 2017, and that if the road is in good repair, the tolls would have to come down according to current law.

Without replacing the revenue from another source, he said, the loss of revenue could negatively impact the state's borrowing limits and that could affect financing of both the Southcoast rail project and the expansion of the MBTA Green Line subway system to the Boston suburbs of Medford and Somerville.

Mr. Frost said some Western Turnpike users accept the tolling on that portion of the road, knowing that currently it is used exclusively to maintain and improve that stretch of the Turnpike. If, after 2017, those revenues are diverted to road work and transit projects in other parts of the state, he said, that public support could be lost.

"I think people will have different opinions if we told them the tolls you pay are going to a project in Southeastern Mass," he said.